Menschheitsdämmerung

by Kurt Pinthus (Editor), Johannes R. Becher, Gottfried Benn

Vor genau 40 Jahren, Ende des Jahres 1919, erschien die Sammlung "Menschheitsdämmerung - Symphonie jüngster Dichtung" zum ersten Male. Damals ein explosives Pionierwerk, ein avantgardistisches Experiment - heute als "immer noch die beste", als "repräsentativste", als "klassische Anthologie des Expressionismus", ja als "erste und einzige Sammlung dieses Kreises" erachtet. Die sich in jenem Jahrzehnt "jüngste Generation" nannten, sind heute die Generation der Alten - oder Toten. Ein junger Literatur- und Zeitkritiker in Berlin, Freund vielen Freunden, der leidenschaftlich seine Epoche und deren Literatur liebte, stellte 1919 dies stürmische, vorwärtsstürmende Buch zusammen.

Genres: Poetry, Classics, German Literature

384 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1919

Reviews

[Iohannes · Rating 4 out of 5]

from the illustrations by Kokoschka, Oppenheimer, Chagall and others to Pinthus' extensive commentary, this 'anthology', faithfully recreated as it was first published in 1919, is an extraordinary monument to the expressionist movement, featuring over 20 poets, among them classics like Trakl, Benn and Heym. As for the other content, it's a mixed bag, really. You can discover quite a lot of hidden gems here and there, but you also realise why we remember only a handful of the featured artist, since some of the stuff rly didn't age all too well (as Pinthus himself remarks); nevertheless provides a holistic view of the movement, that probably no other book can match.

[Cloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it! The illustrations which accompanied the poems showed the different personalities of the poets and the style of their writing. One of my favourite poems was „unentrinnbar“ by albert ehrenstein.
Sadly there weren‘t a lot of women featured in it which would have been great.

[Saoirse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the expressionist style in German literature and thus, this is one of my favourite poetry anthologies.

[Mira123 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found some of the poems really hard to read, but I loved others!